Consumers are ditching fizzy drinks for flavoured waters, but many don't
realise how full of sugar these drinks are - shockingly, some contain up to
13g per serving

The good news is we’re drinking fewer fizzy drinks. The bad news is we’re drinking sugary water instead.

Figures from consumer research group Kantar Worldpanel show sales of bottled water boomed by more than 14 per cent in the year to January while sales of fizzy drinks fell by almost one per cent over the same period.

But don’t raise a celebratory glass to our newfound wholesomeness.

According to The Grocer magazine, drinks manufacturers facing a fizzy drinks backlash by sugar-savvy consumers have simply reinvented water by loading it with the white stuff. Coca Cola-owned brands including Innocent and This Juicy Water are leading the way. And we’re lapping it up.

Supermarket sales of flavoured still water soared by 17 per cent in the year to January, while flavoured fizzy water also increased in popularity, with sales rising by 11 per cent over the same period.

Incredibly, flavoured water now accounts for 30 per cent of all bottled water sales by volume – that’s 313 million litres of flavoured H20 we’re guzzling each year.

Many of these flavoured waters come in bottles that emphasise the “spring water” content, accompanied by pictures of ripe fresh fruit.

But consumers who believe they’re hydrating themselves the healthy way should read the nutrition label carefully: some flavoured waters are loaded with more sugar than fizzy drink, and others are packed with artificial sweeteners. Some drinks contain a minuscule amount of fruit juice - if any - despite bearing images of fruit.

“It's a bit insincere to call any of these drinks flavoured water,” says Katharine Jenner, Campaign Director of Action on Sugar. “Water is the main ingredient in all soft drinks, from Cola to Ribena to Vitamin Water. This is just another way for drinks makers to take advantage of customers' good intentions, and making a huge amount of money in the process.

“All of these so-called flavoured waters would get a red traffic light label on the packaging – more than 13.5g sugar per portion – and all contain over half of the World Health Organisation's recommended sugar intake of about 25g per person per day.”

She adds that a can of Rockstar Water or a bottle of This Juicy Water “far exceeded” the recommended allowance of sugar for a full day.

She urged parents not to give the drinks to young children and advised people who preferred flavoured water to dilute the drinks further with still or sparkling water.

Michael Green, founder of tapwater.org, the charity aimed at encouraging consumers to ditch bottled water in favour of H20 from the tap, says the surge in flavoured water sales was further proof that drinks manufacturers were convincing consumers to buy products they didn’t need.

“Thirty percent of the bottled water we buy is tap water anyway, so basically consumers are paying for a plastic bottle and a bit of branding. Or tap water with sugar and flavouring. It’s insane.”

Gavin Partington, director general of the British Soft Drinks Association, said: “Flavoured waters provide consumers with the hydration benefits of water with additional flavouring. Most also contain low calorie sweeteners and sometimes fruit juice which does contain naturally occurring sugar but also essential vitamins and minerals.

Soft drinks companies are taking practical steps to help consumers lead healthier lives - product reformulation to reduce calories, increasing availability of smaller pack sizes and significant investment in promotion of low and no calorie options – up by nearly 50 per cent last year alone".

A spokeswoman for Innocent said the company never added sugar to its drinks, adding that the labels always made clear what was inside the bottle.

The Fruity Water For Kids range gave parents an easy way to "get more fruit into their kids", she said, while the soon-to-be-launched Innocent Bubble drinks gave consumers one of their 5-a-day at under 100kcal per can.

"In the UK, the majority of adults also don’t meet the current 5-a-day target, and by contributing to your 5-a-day, our drinks can help consumers reach the government’s recommended target," she said.

Drink

Sugar/100ml

Teaspoons of sugar per bottle/can

Juice content

Rockstar’s Energy Water

8.7g

8 teaspoons/ 355ml can

None

This Juicy Water (Oranges and Lemons)

8.7g

9 teaspoons/ 420ml bottle

26%

Innocent Bubbles

5.4g

4.5 teaspoons/330ml can

60%

Innocent Fruity Water for Kids

6g

2.7 teaspoons/ 180ml carton

50%

Volvic Touch of Fruit Strawberry flavour

4.8g

3 teaspoons/ 250ml serve

Less than 1.5% fruit “flavouring”

Glaceau Vitaminwater Defence

3g

3.75 teaspoons/ 500ml bottle

Label mentions “fruit and vegetable concentrates” but does not state percentage